Death Note: The Draycott Factor, chapter snippet
by Tower of Babel
Summary: After a conversion with his best friend, Demetre Draycott, Light begins to suspect that the Second Kira is closer at hand than he thinks after joining forces with L. But even Light Yagami has a consequence. This 'part' of my novel takes place soon after the appearance of the Second Kira, broadcasting on live TV. Please review and let me know what you think.


**CUT CHAPTER FROM MY DEATH NOTE NOVEL: "THE DRAYCOTT FACTOR"**

_(This scene is a phone conversion between Light, and whom he later believes may be the Second Kira. Light speaks with his best friend and confidant Demetre Draycott, who also possesses a DN in the novel. Please take a moment and read my novel, it isn't finished yet, but I believe you'd like it.)_

Bryant Harvey was an American terrorist and mercenary for hire, guilty of bombing an American airline passenger plane within the United States, and robbing another, and actually parachuting to freedom – among other notorious crimes noted in Interpol's, the FBI's, the CIA's, and criminal databases around the world. To date, his death toll as a result of his crimes numbered 323 people in separate acts, thefts, and other criminal activity, and he was not even associated with any of the known world terrorist groups.

He was also one man Light Yagami, for whatever reason, couldn't kill with the Death Note.

Every media outlet in the world spelled his name correctly, no variations either, and it was not an alias – his own videos mocking the police verified this on-line.

So then why didn't the Death Note work on him?

Ryuk was no help, shrugging his shoulders in an _I-don't-know_ gesture when asked. The Shinigami was useless when giving Light an advantage over his enemies, and was only in it for the entertainment value. Light was using the Death Note to create a new world where only law-abiding, kind people lived.

But people like Bryant Harvey – and L – kept getting in his way!

Light tried a multitude of death variations, writing down the man's name and visualizing Bryant Harvey's face in his mind. If what he wrote down wasn't physically possible, then the man would merely die of a heart attack. But nothing – absolutely _nothing_ – seemed to work on the man.

Why was he immune to the Death Note? Was that even possible? No human was immune to its affects, but if Bryant Harvey was a Shinigami in disguise… But Harvey showed no signs of phantom powers in any of his crimes, or when his showboated, mocking the police.

It was frustrating. A rule stated if you wrote a person's name down 4 times in less than 0.5 seconds, the person wouldn't die. Light was a quick writer, but not that quick. However, he began to suspect something ominous with Bryant Harvey. If the man's name was written down in someone _else's_ Death Note, then, no matter how many times Harvey's name was written down in _his_ Death Note, the man wouldn't die.

And yet, the Death Note had a time span of 23 days. Once a person's name is written down, the person's death is assured, and it cannot be extended more than the 23 Rule implied. The man's crime spree had been going on for more than three months, and Light had written down Harvey's name several dozen times within those three months.

_Are_ _other "rules" at play here?_ _Or indeed, is the man a Human-Shinigami?_ If such a thin was possible, then he could, _would_, not die no matter what. And Light had to wonder about that possibility.

He watched television in his room, the Death Note open on his desk. He again wrote Bryant Harvey's name down several times as he watched yet another video new caption of the man, by some monotone anchor, committing some spectacular crime, and escaping, with considerable ease like some sort of magician, and he wondered _had_ L noticed it, too? That the _Almighty Kira_ couldn't kill this man?

"…_and he continues his crime spree without any interference from Kira, surprisingly_." The anchor was obviously reading from a teleprompter, his eyes moved from side-to-side. "_To date, the American terrorist Bryant Harvey has been unstoppable in every crime he commits, and some have been wondering, where is Kira? Are Kira and Bryant Harvey working together? If so, then this contradicts Kira's _modus operandi_ of creating a better world by eliminating evil from the face of the planet._"

Light scowled. Of course L noticed. Of course L noticed this _lapse_ in Kira's power to kill Harvey. And it made Light's face flush with an anger he had never felt before, because it meant the great and powerful Kira was infallible, that that one criminal was continuing to undermine him, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it! Light also thought like L. Did L wonder, was Bryant Harvey being kept alive for some insidious purpose known only to Kira?

Light didn't care what L thought. He wanted Bryant Harvey dead!

Internet chatter was fueling a rumor that Bryant Harvey may indeed _be_ Kira, and that's why he wouldn't die. That Kira was beginning to use his powers for personal gain.

_This cannot stand, not to me. Not to Kira!_

His cell phone rang, and he flipped it open. But it was from a blocked number. He never answered Unknown or Blocked Numbers. He hated those phone calls, because they were either from solicitors or wrong numbers, and right now, he was not in the mood for either. But it kept ringing.

"You gonna answer that?" Ryuk said, pointing at Light's cell. The tall, gauntly, grotesque being stood from floor to ceiling in Light's bedroom. "If you'd like, I can smash it into tiny pieces. _Hyuk-hyuk-hyuk._"

Light gritted his teeth in annoyance. "That won't be necessary," and he answered it. "What!" harshly.

There was silence for a moment. "That isn't a polite way to answer the phone, Light," and a light chuckle followed. "Can't an old friend call once in a while?"

Light's mood instantly mellowed. "Demetre Draycott?"

"What happened to Demmy? You sound a little flustered, Light."

Light sighed relief. Of all his friends, of all the people he had befriended over the years, Demmy was by far the closest and best of them all. They had known each other since they were kids, when Light's father took them both camping, on 'survival training', as his father told his mother. Demmy was a close confidante; he could discuss anything with him. Well, almost everything - except the Death Note.

"Sorry Demmy, now's not a good time."

"I was worried about you; you're not attending school lately." They both attended To-Oh University, and almost mirrored each other in career paths. Light wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, to be a detective in the NPA, while Demmy was more into the political sciences like his father. Demmy's father was a lawyer, but minored in political science. "Skipping class? What, are you too smart for the rest of us?"

Light actually chuckled. They were both highly intelligent, but while Light and L had finished top of the class in the entrance exams for university, Demmy finished second, and only because he accidentally marked the wrong box on a multiple-choice question. That had irked Demmy, but not for long.

"I've been busy," was all Light said.

"I know."

"You do?"

"It's not hard to figure out, Light. Your fingerprints are all over the Kira case, and that message you sent to the Second Kira through Sukura TV. Well, to those who truly know you; you're working with L, right?"

Light's eyes widened. How on earth did Demmy guess this? Silence followed.

"What's wrong, Light? This is your big break, right? Solve this, and you'll be sure to make detective one day, with a recommendation from the great L. What better accolade is there than that! But everything always came easy for you. You've told me you've solved cases for the NPA in the past."

Light mused quickly. _Not easy_, he thought, _but naturally occurring. And the same with you, Demmy; you have always been my greatest rival, and a quasi-strategist like me._

The one thing Light had never been able to do was defeat Demmy in chess. Light was on par with L, but Demmy was just as calculating.

A few more seconds passed without Light responding. But why _wouldn't_ Demmy 'guess' that Light was working on the Kira case? But of course, his father was Chief of the NPA, and L being in Japan. It was a joint-operation. It was only natural. His mind eased.

"Um, Light… Are you still there?" Demmy's voice came from Light's cell.

Light smiled. "But not _always_, Demmy," he said. "You have always been one of greatest rivals, and friends."

"Hope so. I wouldn't like to be left behind while you gallivant toward the sunset on your white horse."

"You know I don't like horses," he said. "They…" He had fallen off a horse once during a riding lesson his father had scheduled for him and Demmy fun when they were kids, and had hit his head hard on the ground. Since that day, he never liked them.

An amused snort came through the cell. "I know, but every once in a while, I like to kick your ass like one. And besides, you know the old axiom…"

Light laughed. "Always get back on the horse." Physically, Light never did.

"Exactly."

"Why was your number blocked? Where are you calling from?" Light had a GPS program on his computer, and he could always find the location of where someone was calling from when he entered the number, except blocked numbers.

There was a short pause. "Bought a new phone, the one you rescued from the university hall had an accident," Demmy said, chuckling slightly. "_Someone_…stepped on it."

_Weird_, Light thought. It almost sounded like Demmy was speaking to someone else, a second person with him. The word 'someone' sounded distant, as if directed at another person, while the remainder was normal. But that was like him, always analyzing things. He discarded the thought, Demmy probably indicated himself humorously.

"Ah, so naturally it would be blocked." Light got a piece of paper and a pen. But he found it odd that Demmy wouldn't just transfer his old number to his new phone. "So what's the new number, so I can add it to my phone list?"

Demmy told him, and Light wrote it down. It was a local number.

"So what's new in the Kira case?" Demmy asked.

"Classified, Demmy. You should know that."

"Yeah, but it was worth a shot. Very interesting, this Kira case, huh? All the victims dying by heart attack and no-one seen near-by to do it, kind of makes it supernatural in nature. Like Kira is some sort of ghost, who stalks his victims, choosing the worse and most violent criminals, and I find it weird that L would challenge Kira like that on live TV. And now a Second Kira appears with a different M.O., very interesting."

Light swallowed. How _much_ did Demmy _know_? "Very perceptive of you," Light said carefully. No, it couldn't be. Was Demmy the Second Kira? "Do you have any other observations?" A small droplet of sweat ran down the side of Light's face. He normally didn't get nervous like this, but being Kira, this almost felt like he was speaking with the Second Kira, who had even stronger powers than he did, namely the Shinigami Eyes. Light had to be careful of what he said here or how his voice sounded, mistakenly revealing something to a potential ally, or later, a foe?

Demmy laughed. "What, are you recruiting me?"

"No, but you and I think on the same wavelength, so to speak, and I was just wondering what your take on the Kira case is, from your perspective."

"Merely that Kira is very dangerous and a maniacal, uber-being."

Light's eyes narrowed. "You think he's maniacal?" Which meant to Light sick or insane.

"In some of his methods, only, and if _I_ had Kira's powers, to say, kill people mainly with a heart attack or other means, I'd probably do something 'special' with it. But having the power is liking to that of a comic book character we, theoretically, all try to emulate, in our means to achieve justice in our lives."

"With great power comes great responsibility," Light said.

"Precisely," Demmy said. The tone of the phone call suddenly changed, and there was a coldness now in Demmy's voice which gave Light an uncomfortable chill. "We may have grown up, Light, but some things are just as important in adulthood as they were in childhood."

"I agree," Light said, mentally wanting to ask if Demmy was the Second Kira. He got the sneaking suspicion this phone call was for a secondary purpose other than a casual hello. Was he fishing for information?

"I wish I could meet L, I wonder what he's like. No one's ever seen him."

_Demmy was definitely fishing, or is he just curious? _ "Smart, cunning, but a little weird," he said.

"Just like you, eh? An isolationist at heart, he's not very social."

_Red flag_, Light concluded. L was all that and more. "Is there a reason for your call, Demmy?" He wanted to end this call.

"Do I need a reason to call my best friend?"

"Like I said before, I'm very busy with the Kira Case." He hoped Demmy would get the hint and end the call, or he'd fake a 'dropped call', where, when suddenly a conversion ended by some mysterious disturbance by the phone company.

"No problem, Light. I get the message. Good luck, talk with you later."

"Thanks. And you, too."

The call ended. But even after Light closed his flip phone, he hung onto it a bit longer, thinking. He leaned back in his desk chair. His mind raced with a frightening thought. Is Demmy the Second Kira? Ryuk had told Light that when he dropped the Death Note, it wasn't because Light was smart, Light just happened to pick it, dropping randomly in the Human World. Could the same thing have happened to Demmy?

_No_, he thought. _Too much of a consequence._

"I've never met this Demmy friend of yours," Ryuk said.

Light gave the Shinigami a sideways glance. "Yes, you have. When we returned the phone back to him, the phone he dropped in the university classroom."

Suddenly a sly grin emerged on Ryuk's face. "Oh…_him_. Oh yeah, now I remember…_him_. Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk."

Something about Ryuk's 'recall' triggered an uneasy response in Light. "What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Oh, nothing. He just seems like a very interesting guy, that's all."

"Just a moment ago you couldn't even remember who Demmy was, now you're saying he's _interesting_?"

Light gave the Shinigami a scornful, narrowed look. And suddenly, his phone beeped with a message. He opened the phone; it was an attachment from an Unknown Sender. He never opened attachments of the sort, in case they contained viruses. He hadn't entered Demmy's new phone number yet, could the attachment be from him? Or could it be L 'pinging' his phone like so, to see who may be the Unknown Caller by his own ingenious method, monitoring his cell? And if he opened it, L slips in a Trojan GPS marker into his phone that would be virtually impossible to remove without resetting the phone back to the factory setting. He deleted it.

Suddenly, an SMS (small message sent) appeared: BRYANT IS UNTOUCHABLE.

Light gasped, and immediately shutdown his phone, and slammed it to his desk.

"Problem, Light?" Ryuk asked.

Light pulled forward the Death Note and grabbed a pen, poised it over a blank sheet. But he merely dotted, and bounced the tip of the ballpoint on the paper, contemplating. Then he put the pen down.

"Whose name were you about to write?"

"It would be a mistake," Light said, cryptically to himself. He closed the Death Note. He had had enough killing for one day. Something about it made him sick to his stomach all of a sudden. "I must be feeling… With L breathing down my neck, and the sudden appearance by the Second Kira…"

"They say people who talk to themselves hear voices in their head." Ryuk chuckled.

"I'm not psychotic."

"Coulda fooled me. Hyuk-hyuk-hyuk. Well, you _are_ the only one who can see and hear me, right?"

"You're different. You're real. Despite _me_ only able to see and hear you…" He stopped and listened to himself for a moment. He sounded like a lunatic. "Oh, shut up."

And Ryuk laughed heartedly.

Demetre Draycott closed his new cell phone, if only dramatically slow, and smirked devilishly. His old phone was turned off, not smashed. He had lied to Light. He needed his old phone for another purpose, a purpose that was important to him.

He was in his bedroom with Geist, _his_ Shinigami that had come to him after Demetre had found a Death Note in an alley downtown, and just before he had to kill a robber, who had threatened his life.

On that day, he also became _Kira_. Consequentially, the on-line public were the ones who choose the moniker for Kira, which was now plural in nature, and along with Light Yagami, and this mysterious Second Kira, he now was, by numbers only, Kira Number Three.

Geist's bones creaked as he moved slightly sitting on Demetre's bed. The Shinigami's 'guitar/rocker' like persona was devilishly clever in appearance, albeit, also slightly humorous. But Demetre wouldn't say that openly, insulting the Shinigami. The Shinigami's Bone Crusher weapon/deathscythe sat on the side of the bed. It was like a giant hammer that had the power to pulverize anything it struck down.

"You're taunting him," Geist said. "He's smart, smarter than most humans. He'll figure it out sooner or later that you have a Death Note."

Demetre turned to Geist, standing tall and pride in the middle of his room, the Shinigami's eye holes were nothing but an abyss of blackness that he, somehow, could still see out of. "Will Ryuk tell Light about you? When I retrieved my phone, you sensed Ryuk. Then you told me about him. Isn't that against some rule?"

Geist shook his head. "No, it's not. Rules in the Shinigami World are vague at best, and not all are written down and enforced. If you break 'light' rules, the consequences are light. Some are more serious. Some, also, evoke death. The majority of them are merely at the discretion of the Shinigami themselves and each Shinigami different personalities. Some Shinigami are slack in the rules, some are strict, and some don't care either way. I say rules are meant to be broken. It's more fun that way."

"So Ryuk won't tell Light about me?"

"I'm pretty sure about that. Ryuk's in this for the long haul, and the fun. He won't spoil it."

"Excellent." He put his phone down. "I wish I knew which one – either Light or the Second Kira – murdered by grandfather. His crime didn't deserve death. And if you know, you wouldn't tell me, right?"

"It's not against the rules to tell you if I did, but I'd like to see you figure it out." He grinned.

"Naturally…" Demetre shrugged indifferently. "Who am I to deprive a god of death his _fun_?" He squeezed an angry fist. "But my mark words, when I do learn the true identity of who killed my grandfather, Light, or this Second Kira, there will be hell to pay! And he will find Death will be the least of his worries."

**END**


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